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Vampire Elder
The Vampire Elders, also known as Grand Elders and Great Elders, are the three leaders and rulers of the entire vampire population and the most powerful of their kind. The original Elders are the three oldest known Vampires. These three Vampires are Marcus Corvinus, Viktor, and Amelia. By the end of Underworld: Blood Wars, three new Elders were chosen. These three Vampires are Viktor's progeny; Selene, David the son of Amelia, and the gifted Lena. History Marcus was the original Vampire and he sired the Hungarian warlord Viktor on his deathbed in exchange for his military prowess and the use of his army to aid Marcus in capturing his brother William, the first and most dangerous Werewolf. For this task, Viktor’s troops were turned and made into the first Death Dealers, Vampire warriors trained to hunt & kill Werewolves. Marcus later sired Amelia for unknown reasons, though most likely to contribute to the effort to combat the Werewolves and locate William. As the oldest and most powerful living Vampires, the three of them founded the Old World Coven and were soon regarded as Elders. Viktor was considered the most powerful and Amelia was also highly influential. Marcus, however, was undermined and over-shadowed by both of them. In the early 15th century, Viktor intended for his pure-blooded daughter, Sonja, to eventualy become an Elder ; however, this never came to pass, due to Sonja being executed for having a secret affair with the Lycan slave, Lucian. There were apparently no further attempts to make any other Vampires Elders after this (Sonja was possibly an exception due to being Viktor's daughter and it's revealed that Amelia was secretly planning to do the same with her son David). By the events of Underworld: Evolution, in the early 21st century, all three original Elders are deceased: Amelia had her blood completely drained by Lycans on the orders of Lucian, in an attempt to turn himself into a Hybrid, Viktor was killed by Selene to save Michael and in retaliation for the murder of her family, and later Marcus was also killed by Selene in the attempt to stop him from releasing his Werewolf brother's rage onto mankind, in self-defense and to prevent him from wiping out the species, and bring further death to innocent lives. Following the death of the three Elders, the Vampires are left without their central leadership for over a decade and Selene was wanted dead for killing Viktor. In Underworld: Blood Wars, after the defeat of Marius's Army, three new Elders are chosen: Selene, the gifted Nordic Vampire Lena and David who is the son of the original Elder Amelia and thus her rightful heir. All three of the new Elders are Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids and possess greater abilities than the original Elders. In the Blood Wars comic, Selene states that they shall forge new alliances, reclaim their Covens, and create new strongholds. Politics The Elders are the most powerful Vampires in the world, ruling over the Covens with the assistance of the Vampire Council. The Elders hold the highest power in any Coven and all Vampires must answer to them, the exception being maybe another Elder. Though it is not entirely clear just how much influence the Elders have in making laws and decisions, it seems likely that they have the final word on important decisions - Viktor is shown overriding the Council on several matters in Rise of the Lycans, suggesting that Elders have the power to veto decisions made by the Council if they disapprove and that any decisions must be presented to the Elders for approval first. The ruling Elder is possibly the thirteenth member of the Vampire Council."There are twelve seats on the Council."~Andreas Tanis The Elders are the ones that ultimately choose and decide how the Vampire community must act and behave, they also are the ones that elect their trusted advisers and Regents. They can also sentence members to death in the case of treason, as Viktor sentenced Sonja to death for having an affair with a Lycan. They all have the power to create and found new Covens. Even in their absence, their will is respected and carried out. Their direct descendants are raised to eventually become Elders themselves due to their royal heritage. Viktor and Amelia both sought to undermine Marcus's authority and status, but Viktor believed the lie that should Marcus or William die, the rest of the species would die with them. Thus, he imprisoned William and never sought Marcus's death. It is possible that Viktor and Amelia have been deceiving the Vampires by implying that the Vampires' immortality was linked to the bloodlines of all three Elders."Our noble houses may be separated by a great ocean... but we are equally committed to the preservation of the bloodlines..." ~Dmitri The Vampire Elders have an intricate system known as the "Chain", during which one Elder rules for a full century while the other two slumber in the crypt in Ördögház for two centuries, thus preventing their conflicting styles of leadership causing division between them and the constituency they rule over. Generally, only an Elder will awaken another, as they have the ability to organize their thoughts into a cohesive record for the next Elder to refer to; however, it is possible for any blood to provoke an Awakening, although other Vampires lack the mental clarity and skill required to coherently organize their thoughts. Elders are shown to be treated with reverence with the fact that Selene killed Viktor being enough for her to be issued a death warrant by the entire Vampire Council. Marcus may not have been given the same reverence as Viktor or his rogue actions became well-enough known for his death not to have been punishable as there is no mention made of Selene facing punishment for killing Marcus, only Viktor. New Elders may apparently be chosen by the Vampire Council if necessary as the Council was eventually able to promote Selene, David, and Lena, the three most powerful Vampires at the time of their choosing as the new Elders. An Elder's position can be hereditary as Viktor intended for Sonja to become an Elder before discovering her affair with Lucian and Amelia's son David was stated to be her rightful heir as the head of the Eastern Coven and presumably an Elder. Powers & Abilities The Elders are the three most powerful Vampires, among their species. Original Elders The original Elders' advanced age, in conjunction with being sired directly by Marcus, grants them much more strength and power than subsequent generations, except the latest generation of Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids who are stronger than any vampires of previous generation. *'Superhuman Strength': Vampire Elders are far stronger than younger Vampires and can overpower or kill them with ease. Their strength is even greater than that of transformed Lycans, allowing these Vampires to face them in single combat successfully. Viktor took down a transformed Raze (considered a very powerful Lycan) with ease by holding him at the throat, breaking his arm and then proceeding to break his neck with little effort. An Elder is even strong enough to fight a Hybrid head on, though they must have great skill and fighting prowess in order to hold their own against such opponent, taking into consideration the confrontation between Viktor and Michael Corvin. Viktor, who was centuries older and therefore far more experienced, was able to eventually overpower Michael although not before sustaining considerable damage to himself in the process due to Michael's superior abilities. *'Superhuman Endurance and Healing': They can heal faster and with more finality than younger Vampires and sustain far greater damage, as Viktor was able to recover from being briefly exposed to sunlight and stabbed through the mouth and out the back of his throat in a matter of minutes. *'Superhuman Speed': As the three oldest Vampires the original Elders speed is likely superior than younger Vampires and even most Lycans. They can move, fight and effectively dodge attacks with relative ease. *'Superhuman Senses': They also possess great auditory and visual abilities being able to hunt and fight during nightime. Viktor was able to sense Sonja's baby growing fetus heartbeat with a simple touch on her abdomen. *'Enhanced Combat': Due to their great age, experience and superior abilities, the Elders are undoubtedly the most deadlier fighters amoung their kind. *'Blood Sorting': Vampire Elders have the unique ability to communicate through their blood, organizing thoughts and memories into a single cohesive vision. This technique is used as part of the Chain, wherein the next Elder to rule is briefed in a blood vision by the previous ruler. Presumably, an Elder can select which memories to keep from those he or she wished to transfer, protecting those particular recollections from being bestowed into the next Elder to rule, since Marcus never found William's prison for a span of several centuries despite receiving accrued memories from both Viktor and Amelia, and neither did the latter two made any effort in thwarting his efforts at doing so. In addition to having memories willingly imparted upon them, Vampire Elders are also able to extract the memories of those they feed on by force. Viktor used this power on Sonja, which is how he learned of his daughter's relationship with the Lycan Lucian. New Elders The new Elders Selene, David, and Lena are stronger than the original Elders due to them being Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids. *'Superhuman Strength': The new Elders Selene, David and Lena all possess greater strength than the original Elders due to their nature as Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids. After having her powers enhanced by Alexander's blood, Selene was able to match, and at some point overpower Marcus strength in his Hybrid state, defeat Lycans with ease and flip a van with a single push. After returning from the Nordic Coven's sacred ritual Selene's strength was so great that she was able to rip out the spine of a transformed Lycan-Corvinus Strain Hybrid with but one hand. David was able to engage multiple Lycans in both human and Werewolf form and fight Semira, another Vampire-Corvinus strain hybrid on equal grounds. Lena was able to match the strength of transformed Lycans even prior of her being, presumably, turned a Vampire-Corvinus strain Hybrid. This superhuman ability was likely enhanced in Selene's and Lena's cases, due to the cocooning ritual of the Nordic Coven. *'Superhuman Endurance and Healing': The new Elders' endurance and healing is even greater than the original Elders, as shown when Selene was able to take the talon of the Hybrid, Marcus, through the chest almost without flinching, being stabbed by swords, endure multiple gunshots, and recover quickly after being hit and thrown around by Quint Lane multiple times. David was able to, quite easily, resist being constantly shot by a SMG at point blank range and even expel the bullets aftewards. *'Superhuman Speed': The new Elders' speed is enhanced beyond that of the original Elders by their nature as Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids, they are able to move so fast that many have difficulty on keep their track. Selene and Lena's were further enhanced by the Sacred Ritual of the Nordic Coven to the point that they appear as mere blurs when using their full speed. *'Blood Sorting': Of the three new Elders, Selene and David at least has this ability, as shown when she sorted through Eve, David and Marius' memories and when David sorted through Amelia's memories. It is very likely that after becoming Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids Lena acquire this ability as well. *'UV immunity': Due to being Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids, the three new Elders are completely immune to sunlight and UV bullet rounds. *'Superhuman Senses': Their five senses were likely enhanced also. Selene was able to hear and see Detective Sebastian's conversation from several meters away. Is likely that David and Lena possess the same sensorial levels as Selene does. *'Resurrection': One of the new Elders, Selene has displayed the ability to resurrect a recently deceased vampire and turn them into Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrid by applying her blood directly to their heart as she did with David. It is very likely that David and Lena possesses this ability too. *'Soul Reading': One of the new Elders, Lena, has the ability to "read" the souls of others. Selene may also possess this ability having gone through the same Ritual. Trivia * Interestingly, the original Elders consisted of two men (Viktor and Marcus) and one woman (Amelia), while the newly selected Elders consist of two women (Selene and Lena) and one man (David). * Another interesting fact is that in both the original and new triad one of the Elders is the sire of the other two (Marcus turned Viktor and Amelia while Selene turned David and Lena) and the first of their kind/breed (Marcus is the first Vampire and Selene is the first Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrid). * Originally'', the ability to read and absorb the blood memories of other Vampires or Lycans appeared unique to the Vampire Elders or other Vampires who are as powerful like Selene. In ''Underworld: Blood Wars, many vampires such as Vampire Council members and Alexia, are shown to possess the ability. Its possible that all Vampires possess this ability, but only Elders can use it to pass on their memories as a cohesive vision as described by Viktor. * Two of the new Elders have displayed abilities so far unique to them: Lena can read souls while Selene can resurrect deceased Vampires as Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrids. Her use of this ability is shown to be unique due to the marvel other Vampires showed at her resurrection of David. * One of the new Elders, David, is both the only living heir of one of the original Elders and the first Vampire to be resurrected. * Similar to Viktor, Lena also seems to maintain her 'vampiric eyes' at all times. * Unlike Viktor and Marcus, Amelia appears to have been a well-loved ruler instead of a ruthless tyrant or an insane madman as Viktor and Marcus were respectively. Vidar called Amelia's death a terrible blow to all Vampires. Gallery References fr:Vampires Aînés es:Anciano Vampiro ru:Старшие вампиры Category:Characters Category:Vampires Category:Mythology Category:Organizations Category:Vampire Elders